Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-05-17
THE SCHOOL TEXTBOOK MEETING.

1t Is somewhat singular that Senator L.
| j. Clunie, who was chief speaker at the
| San Francisco textbook meeting Saturday
night called by the Federated Trades
Unions, should be possessed of radically
| different information concerning the State
| school textbooks on hand, from that certi-
| fed to be accurate by the officials in
charge of the work of issuing the books.
How did he ascertain that the State is
| short of the demand by 10000 readers,
10000 arithmetics and 5000 spoilers /?
Mr.. Clunie and his fellow-sensationalists
were plainly informed by the RECORD
UNION last week that examination Of the
records disclosed that the State Board of
Education has 1900 volumes each of
spoilers and readers on hand in excess of
the certified demand by all the counties
that can possibly take books before jan
uary, 1885, 1t would have been nothing
but exact justice-which Mr. Clunies pro-
fession should incline him to conserve
for him to have given the authority upon
which he made his remarkable statement
The truth is, there is no authority for
it. The assumed warrant for the mis-
leading assertion possibly may. be the
school census reports. But no one better
than Mr.. Clunie knows that these reports
refer to the whole number of census chill
dren-to those not attending and those
attending schools, public and private.
These reports do not and cannot be made
to show the number who need readers,
spoilers and arithmetics prepared by the
State. But it is enough to know that the
committee in charge-the Governor of
the State and the Superintendent of Pub
lie Instruction-are agreed that books
enough are printed, and that others are in
press to keep the reserve stock up to the
figure, 10000, the minimum, below which
the Board of Education has resolved the
reserve shall not decline.
Mr.. Clunie and his fellow speakers at
the mass meeting in San Francisco Satur-
day night, assailed the Superintendent of
Instruction, charging him with willful
dereliction of his duty in this mat
ter Of the books. Strangely enough
they emitted to include the Governor in
the denunciation. 1t cannot be that the
fact that Mr. Clunie and most of the pro-
moters of the meeting are the political
friends of the Governor and the political
enemies of the Superintendent. Certainly
Mr.. Clunie and the smaller FRY that fol-
lowed him would not be guilty of such
demagogy as that.
So far as the meeting of Saturday night
went in declaring in favor of the State
textbook system, and calling for the
damnation of whatsoever attempts to break
it down and hand the State over to the
tender rapacity of the book rings, it was
sound in its action. So far as it went in
demanding that the books be printed as
soon as possible that may be needed,
it expressed itself only in line with the
past policy and the expressed orders az
ready made, and therefore its demand was
uncalled for So far as it went in declar-
ing that members of the Board of Educa-
ton ought not to be compilers of the text
books, it touched upon policy that we
are inclined to believe is open to criticism.
1t would be better in the future, it would
have been better for the Board of Educa-
ton, had it committed the entire work of
compilation to others than its members.
But as for the work given to the public, it
is sufficient, now that the compilation has
been made, to know that it has given to
the State readers and spoilers level with
the best standards, and that prove conclu-
sively that the State can produce text
books of precisely the character needed,
independently OF book syndicates and pub
fishing rings. For the rest, the meeting
was the tool and means of demaeogues
an instrument Of wrong aimed at one
office-holder for political faiths sake, while
ignoring another jointly responsible with
him, also for political faiths sake 1t was
used to further unworthy ambitions and
givepolitical boosts to political demagogues.